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Simon Kaden
Simon Kaden is a primary character in the Ultimate Power Rangers continuity, though he is initially a minor character in the first years of the series as he grows up from a nine-year-old child at the start of the series into a member of the Wild Task Force Gao Rangers and Hurricane Task Force Power Rangers as a teenager. He is the adoptive brother of Maya Koji. Character History Early Life Simon and his adoptive sister, Maya Koji, had spent much of their lives living in different foster homes, but had always been together in each foster home. Simon often considered Maya his only real family, even though they were not related by blood. The two lived with foster parents in the Angel Grove North district of Angel Grove, California. (BTFPR: #1) 2001 In early 2001, a nine-year-old Simon was in Angel's Square in Angel Grove North when Bandora's DoraTitan monster attacked and engaged Jason Scott in battle. Simon was separated from Maya in the chaos and was searching for Maya when he spotted the battle between Jason and DoraTitan and was excited to see the battle. Maya soon found Simon as she came out of a nearby alleyway and recognized DoraTitan from the teachings of her grandfather, Professor Koji. Simon and Maya watched the battle unfold between Jason and DoraTitan, but DoraTitan's Ground Quaker attack was hurled towards them when Jason dodged out of the way of the attack. Jason jumped back and pushed Simon and Maya out of the way of the attack, which ripped across the pavement and exploded against a nearby building. Jason would tell Simon and Maya to get out of there before being attacked by DoraTitan once again. Simon and Maya remained in the area, however, and when Jason's teammates--Zack Taylor, Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston, and Trini Kwan--arrived on the scene, Maya realized that the five teenagers were the five that "Grandpa" told her about. The teenagers would soon transform into the Battle Task Force Power Rangers, and Simon and Maya witnessed their transformation, which confirmed to Maya that they were the ones their grandfather had spoken of. Simon and Maya watched the Power Rangers attack DoraTitan with random attacks that lacked any strategy, then begin bickering amongst themselves about strategy, until DoraTitan produced a shockwave that exploded against the Rangers with bursts of sparks. Maya called out to the Rangers that the five of them needed to work together to defeat the monster. DoraTitan then approached Simon and Maya and said that it appeared they wished to join in on their fun, and whipped its chain around the two siblings, snapped them off of their feet, and pull them in close. DoraTitan held Simon and Maya up for the Rangers to see, and pressed its blade against Simon's neck. When Tyranno Ranger ordered DoraTitan to let Simon and Maya go, DoraTitan complied by throwing Simon and Maya backward into a nearby television billboard, and the two were absorbed into the billboard and imprisoned in a pocket dimension in the billboard, and they appeared on the screen as if on television. (BTFPR: #1) When Mammoth Ranger attacked DoraTitan and slashed the monster across the chest with his Mammoth Breaker axe, Simon and Maya screamed in pain. The Rangers realized that any damage taken by the monster would now be felt by Simon and Maya, and DoraTitan empasized this fact by scratching its own armor with its blade, causing Simon and Maya to cry out in pain again. Tyranno Ranger would free Simon and Maya from the pocket dimension by destroying DoraTitan with a Power Blade attack. Simon and Maya fell out of the pocket dimension and crashed onto the street below. Ptera Ranger rushed over to check on Maya and Simon, but they were unharmed. Simon excitedly cried, "That was cool!" as he looked at the building damaged by Tyranno Ranger's Power Blade attack. At that point, a streak of light shot down from the skies and struck DoraTitan's ashes, causing the fallen monster to be reassembled in a giant form that towered over the city. The Rangers summoned their Dinozords to battle the monster while Maya pulled Simon away towards cover. Simon and Maya then watched the battle ensue between DoraTitan and the Megadinozord, which soon destroyed the monster. (BTFPR: #1) The Rangers hopped back down to the streets, where Simon ran over to them with Maya not far behind. Simon told the Rangers that they were awesome, just before an evil laughter suddenly bellowed from the rooftops. The Rangers, Simon, and Maya turned to see Dragon Ranger and his fellow Dark Warlords standing on the rooftops around Angel's Square. Dragon Ranger called the Power Rangers fools, and Tyranno Ranger demanded to know who they were. Dragon Ranger introduced them as the Dark Warlords and himself as the Warlord of Cruelty. Secmet introduced himself as the Warlord of Venom. Dayus introduced himself as the Warlord of Illusion. Kayl introduced himself as the Warlord of Deception. Dragon Ranger told the Rangers that the creature they killed was but a pawn, and that Bandora was ready to strike now, and when she did, nothing would stop their world from falling. Mammoth Ranger defiantly yelled that they weren't afraid of them, but Dragon Ranger simply replied, "You will be," before he and his fellow Dark Warlords stepped back and shimmered out of sight, leaving Simon, Maya, and the Rangers to contemplate the implications. (BTFPR: #1) At least a day after the Rangers' battle with DoraTitan and subsequent confrontation with the Dark Warlords, Simon and Maya brought Jason to their grandfather's apartment building a few miles southwest of Angel's Square, in a run-down part of the city. Simon asked Jason why the other Rangers hadn't come with them, and Jason explained that they wanted to stay behind in case Bandora "tried to pull anything again." Simon asked who Bandora was, and Jason shrugged and admitted that they weren't sure who she was, or anything about their powers except how to use them. Maya was certain that her grandfather could help him, recalling that he had told her legends when she was a girl similar to what they had just been through. Jason nodded and said that was what he was counting on, adding that they appreciated her help. Simon, Maya, and Jason entered the apartment building and passed through the empty lobby towards an old elevator. (BTFPR: #2) Simon and Maya led Jason towards their grandfather's apartment on the top floor of the building, where Jason asked if this was the place. Maya nodded and said that her grandfather should be inside. Simon grabbed Jason by the hand and led him inside. (BTFPR: #2) Unbeknownst to Simon, Maya, and Jason, several shadows were slithering towards Professor Koji's apartment building, and moved as if they were alive as they inched towards the top floor. (BTFPR: #2) Simon, Maya, and Jason entered Professor Koji's apartment, where several suits of samurai armor were on display inside glass cases. Professor Koji was sitting at his desk at the far end of the room, hunched over his laptop computer, and barely paid his visitors any notice. Maya told Professor Koji that he would never believe what had happened. Professor Koji stood and slowly looked towards Maya before shifting his gaze at Jason and stating, "So... this is a Ranger..." Maya nodded and asked him how he knew that. Professor Koji suddenly grabbed Maya by the neck, asking her if she took him for a fool. Maya struggled to break free from Professor Koji's grasp, but he seemed to have an unusual amount of strength. Simon tried to intervene, pulling at Professor Koji's sleeve and shouting at him to stop it, as he was hurting her. Professor Koji slapped Simon across the face with the back of his hand, knocking Simon to the ground. Jason dashed towards Professor Koji to intervene, and Professor Koji pushed Maya aside, pulled a knife from his belt, and swung the blade at Jason. Jason dodged the weapon and stepped around Professor Koji tos tand in front of Simon and Maya to protect them. Profesor Koji's eyes slowly began to light up with a crimson glow, and Maya cried out, "Grandpa?" Jason realized that wasn't her grandpa talking. The suits of armor suddenly came to life and stood within the glass display cases. Jason ordered Simon and Maya to get down as the suits of armor shattered through the glass and attacked. Jason fought back against the armor creatures to keep them away from Simon and Maya, but while Jason was distracted, Professor Koji stalked towards Maya with a crooked grin on his face. (BTFPR: #2) As Jason jump-kicked the last armor creature to the ground, he turned to see Professor Kojji holding Maya with a knife to her throat and Simon trying to pry them apart. Professor Koji glared at Jason and ordered him not to make another move. Jason pulled a knife from the back of his belt and leapt towards Professor Koji while swinging the blade towards his face. Maya cried out for Jason not to kill him, and Jason stopped the knife a centimeter away from Professor Koji's face, causing an evil spirit inhabiting his body to flee with fear. Professor Koji then dropped to the ground, and Simon cried out to him, kneeling down at his side. Although they were not related by blood, Professor Koji was the closest thing to a grandfather Simon ever had. Professor Koji whispered to Simon in a weak, raspy voice not to be sad, calling him, "my little hawk," and Maya kneeled down next to Simon and held him close while she cried. Professor Koji said that "It's begun," and told Maya that she must help the Rangers find their way. Professor Koji then slowly reached up and used his desk for balance to climb off the floor, despite Maya's pleas to save his strength. Jason suggested taking Professor Koji to a hospital, but Professor Koji said that there wasn't time as he sat in front of his laptop and pulled up a data file on the computer. He told Jason that this file would lead him to the answers he seeked. Grabbing Jason by the shirt, Professor Koji told Jason to protect his granddaughter before exhaling a final, raspy breath, and collapsing into his chair, dead. Simon and Maya hugged their fallen grandfather and cried as a voice called out to "Tyranno Ranger" from outside the window. Jason ran over to the window to see Secmet staring at him from a rooftop across the street, then told Simon and Maya that he would be right back before leaping out the window. (BTFPR: #2) Later on, following the Rangers' battles with Dragon Ranger and Secmet, the Ranger teens gathered in Professor Koji's apartment while Maya tended to their wounds. As Maya wrapped a bandage around Zack's arm, he complained that he thought that their armor was supposed to protect them, adding, "A hell of a job it's done so far." Billy said that they weren't invulnerable, and Zack said that they should be. Trini sighed and said that she didn't think they should stay there much longer, as Bandora might expect to find them all there. Maya assured her that they wouldn't stay for long, and walked over to Professor Koji's computer, and pulled up a .jpeg file. The map showed a map of the mountains northeast of Angel Grove. Kimberly asked her what the map was, and Maya replied, "A map my grandfather gave me before he..." Maya's voice trailed off, and Jason placed a hand on her shoulder and apologized. Simon asked where the map led to, and Jason replied that there was only one way to find out. (BTFPR: #2) Relationships *Maya Koji (adoptive sister) *Professor Koji (adoptive grandfather; deceased) Notes/Trivia *Simon Kaden is "portrayed" by actor David Gallagher in the series. *Simon was born in 1991. *As Professor Koji lay dying, he called Simon "my little hawk," foreshadowing Simon's role as Hurricane Red in Hurricane Task Force Power Rangers in 2008.